Other factors include lower crops as a result of warm weather and water scarcity as well as an increase in demand due to record-keeping of foreign visitors.
At one food store in Tokyo, a sign seen by AFP read:” In order for many customers to be able to buy, we ask you to purchase one ( bag of rice ) a day per family”.
” NO PROSPECTS”
A worker at another store in Tokyo said:” We ca n’t purchase any rice at all, and there’s no prospect of buying anytime soon”.
The Fresco contractor informed AFP that regular stocks ran out by noon.
” Customers queue up before the shop opens but mounds of luggage, each of which contains 10kg, are usually sold out during the night”, he said.
” Please be prudent in your purchasing decisions by purchasing only the quantity of rice you need,” Sakamoto urged.
Rice is deeply ingrained in Chinese tradition, and its cultivation has influenced the country’s landscape, yet having been used as a dollar in the seventh century.
It is by far the most consumed foods staple in the country with an quarterly use of seven million tonnes per month.
Demand has been declining for some time, but this is due to a shrinking population and changing eating patterns by many Chinese as they choose alternative foods.
The nation’s stockpile in June was the lowest since 1999 when comparable data was second collected, but authorities believe the products is enough.
A farm ministry official informed AFP that 40 % of the crop had already been harvested and that it had started a new harvest time.